Any Other Way
by Triangle Goddess
Summary: AU-All of Bucky's friends know that Bucky loves tattoos. More importantly, he loves his tattoo artist, who is a cute blonde with a background as a captain.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own or claim Captain America, yada yada

**Notes: **This is an AU I thought of while my internet was fucking up, and it is Stucky, so I hope you enjoy! Also, sorry for any mistakes, I'm writing this particular one shot from my cell.

**The Meaning Behind**

**Third Person:**

Everyone knew James 'Bucky' Barnes had a thing for tattoos. He loved them. He had one on his right shoulder that was a tribal-styled wolf with its head tilted back, as if howling at the moon. Behind it were two sniper rifles, and below it was a banner that said 'Howling Commandos.' He had gotten it before his last mission, where he had lost his left arm.

Every other week he would go in to this tattoo parlor that was actually pretty good. His went there so often his entire right arm was covered in ink with different tattoos. But they weren't the only reason he went there. In fact, that was just a cover.

He went there for the person who did his usual tattooing.

His name is Steve.

Today he was easier to spot than normal. Steve was tall, a few inches taller than Bucky's 5'11" frame, and he absolutely loved it when the sun hit Steve's already golden hair, making it shine even more. Bucky felt like he could get lost in Steve's blue eyes forever. He wore a shirt-so-dark-blue-it-could-almost-pass-for-black shirt that was almost to small for Stevem and it made _everything _pop out. His black jeans were equally as tight, and they hugged him in all the right placed. Today his hair was slicked back, not a strand out of place. To Bucky, he was eye candy. Eye candy that he just couldn't get enough of. And that wasn't even considering the many tattoos he had on both of his muscular arms.

"Oh, hey, Buck," Steve said with a smile. He didn't even have to look up as Bucky, his favorite customer, strolled in and took a seat in his usual chair. "What will it be today?" He asked, trying to force his eyes on Bucky's pale blue eyes instead of letting them venture to other places. Steve almost thought Bucky was testing him. With the jeans he was wearing he certainly wouldn't be surprised. Bucky just flashed him a smile, pulling his hair back into a ponytail before answering.

"I don't know. I here Yin-Yangs these days are pretty popular. Gimme the black half," Bucky answered.

"Alright. Take your jacket off and show me where you want it," Steve replied, returning the smile as easily as he could. He couldn't lie worth shit, but he could certainly hide how he really felt. That was the perk of being a retired Captian of the US army, and recipient of the Medal of Honor. He liked Bucky. More than a lot. And he was always sort of sad whenever Bucky couldn't take off more than just his jacket.

He examined Bucky's right arm, knowing full well that he had a metal left. But Steve didn't care. In fact he thought it was pretty cool. If he ever got the chance he would ink that one up, too.

He almost grinned when he couldn't find a spot for the Yin-Yang to go on his arm, which meant that if Bucky wanted another tattoo, he would have to take some more clothing off.

"There isn't any room on your arm. Do you want it on your back instead?" He asked, sounding legitimately sincere.

Hearing hat made Bucky go a little red. He wanted to do more than take his shirt off for Steve, and he was thankful that he and Steve were the only ones in the otherwise empty room. But that wouldn't stop him from being self conscious about his surgical scars around his left shoulder where the metal meets flesh. But the first time Steve had seen it he hadn't reacted bad...He had acted really chill about it...Almost excited even...

"Yeah, sure," the words had left Bucky's mouth without his consent, so now he really had o choice but to take off his shirt.

And this ladies, gents, and others, is what happens when you are head over heels for someone. Your brain shuts down.

In less than a second Bucky's shit was over his head and off. He dropped it to the floor and rested his chin on the back of the chair he was sitting in, waiting for the needle to pierce his skin.

Steve's breath caught in his throat, an his heart thudded so loudly against his chest that he thought it was going to go straight through and hit the shop window at any second. Like a ticking time bomb of emotion that he was certain Bucky could hear. he glanced over at his meta arm, taking in al of the scars that he thought was pretty cool. Gruesome, but cool nonetheless.

Steve tried not to grin as he started his work, starting with the white circle that goes inside the symbol first, glancing at the rest of his strong back every few seconds. He had nice, strong, tanned skin that made Steve's mouth all but water. he wanted Bucky more than anything, and this was almost too much.

"So," Steve said, thankful that is voice was still nice and strong even though his face had betrayed him. "You were a Howling Commando too?"

"Yeah," Bucky replied, giving Steve a small, almost inaudible chuckle. "Yeah I was. I was a sniper. Wait. What do you mean by 'too?' Are you sayin' you were a Howling Commando?"

"Yeah. I was a captain. My tattoo is on my left shoulder."

As if t prove his point, Steve stopped working and pulled his shirt over his head, showing off a few tattoos on his stomach, and the only one he had on his back, which was like Bucky's, except instead of two snipers behind the wolf, it was a giant tor with a circle around it.

Bucky's face was redder than red. Steve was pretty hot with a shirt on. But hot didn't even begin to describe him when he didn't have one on. His muscles, six pack and all, were in high definition, and he had was amazingly tanned. he had a few nasty scars here and there, but Buck couldn't really say anything about that when you consider the ones he has. He awkwardly cleared his throat and whistled.

"Nice," he said. he was more than thankful that his voice stayed level. He cleared his throat again, almost choking on his spit because for a split second he didn't know if he wanted to cover it up with a cough or not. "So..." He wanted to sound nonchalant, like he wasn't just about to ask Steve on a date. "After this do you wanna go get a coffee or something? The one down the street is pretty good."

By this point Steve had sat back down and had begun working on Bucky's back. The question almost made him mess up. Thank god he had steady hands.

"Uh...Sure. Why not? DO you wanna leave after my shift?" Steve asked. Bucky grinned and nodded.

"Yeah," he replied, "That would be okay..."

"...Is something wrong, Buck? You seem tense..." Steve said, noting how Bucky's back had tightened up significantly since he had asked for coffee. Bucky nodded, and Steve noticed how Bucky's neck was bright red now.

"Yeah," he said again. "Everything's fine." _I'm such a fucking idiot._

* * *

"Aaand...Done," Steve said with a smile. He handed Bucky a mirror and held up his own so he could show Bucky.

Bucky looked in the mirror and started blushing all over again. Steve had done an amazing job with the tattoo, but he added a little something under it. He was thankful his Ma had taught him cursive, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to read, _'You sexy fucker' _backwards. He turned aroun to look at Steve, who had a shit-eating grin on his face.

"You like?" He asked, grinned pink. Bucky grinned and nodded, rolling his eyes slightly.

"You know, saying that stuff about you on _my _back is a pretty dick move, Rogers," Bucky stated, forcing himself to make eye contact. "So...How about that coffee?" Steve smiled and nodded, noticing the compliment Bucky had just slyly given him. It was enough of a message for Steve to understand how Bucky felt.

"I feel like we'll be doing a little more than just coffee tonight," he said. Bucky laughed.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."


End file.
